Child of the wood
by Destiny of the shimmy girls
Summary: An introduction to the connection series. It will weave together three fandoms and may dip occasionally into Narnia as well. This particular short story is based almost solely on Narnia. Please join our plucky narrator at the start of our journey. I do not own the world created by C.S. Lewis I am merely playing in it for a bit and I make no money from this.


Once there was an endless wood between worlds. The trees of the wood were tall and evenly spaced out. The tops of the trees providing an impenetrable canopy high enough that a giant couldn't come close to touching it. In the spaces between the trees were pools of water. Each pool of water was a perfectly shaped circle. That is where the similarities ended however some were old some were new. One pool may go to your ankles another to your waist should you choose to step into one. You would first have to find your way to the wood of course which was nearly impossible without an invitation. For others who found their way to wood, the pools held vast worlds to explore. The ground in between the pools was carpeted with thick soft emerald green grass. The wood was neither too hot nor too cold it was always perfectly comfortable. It was never too bright or too dim soft light constantly lit the wood.

In this wood lived a little girl, a lion and an ageless man. The lion and man were the little girls' caretakers. She spent her waking hours playing hide and seek or jumping into the pools of water to explore the worlds they held. She grew up a thousand times or more learning lessons along the way. One day returning to the wood only to revert to an innocent young age growing slowly though an endless day.

I am not here to tell those stories though. While they would be interesting, they hold no impact no real consequence. Instead I am here to tell you of the time the little girl broke the one rule of the wood to never dig between the pools. She like most children was well behaved, but like all children even she could make mistakes.

It all started after she had left a world where she had been an artist. Her favorite medium had been clay. She had loved the way the clay felt in her hands and squished between her fingers. Upon returning to the wood curiosity over weather or not the wood held clay had led her to dig into the grass to the soil below. There had been no clay in the first spot so she decided to dig one pond over to see if she could find clay. Once again, she had found only soil before she could dig a third hole a growl made her pause and turn. Behind her stood a lion.

He was not any old lion and most definitely was not like the ones you see at the zoo. He was kind, compassionate, but also could be stern when needed. "What are you doing little one?" the lion asked the little girl who looked up at him sheepishly. "I was looking for clay." The little girl replied looking at the holes she had made between the pools. It began to dawn on her just what she had done. "I broke the rule lion I am sorry." She continued looking at the soil that covered her hands. The lion sat down and watched the little girl for a moment. "Do you know what you have done little one?" he asked calmly. Her brows furrowed as she tried to understand what the lion was really asking her. "I dug a hole and broke the rule." She replied uncertainly. The lion sighed "Yes little one you have dug a hole and broke the rule. In doing so you have weakened the separations between the worlds. The barriers will not hold and soon the worlds will merge." the lion said sadly, "I can fix it by putting the soil back where it belongs." The little girl offered wanting to fix things. "I wish it were that simple little one, but the damage is done. Even if you put the soil back it will eventually seep though." The lions' heart was heavy as he gave his reply. "Is there really no way to fix it lion?" the little girl asked. The lion sat quietly for a few minutes looking between the pools of water. "I may be able to lessen the damage done, but if I do, I will need help. It will not be easy you will face hardship pain and sorrow. Once you have finished the wood may decide not to take you back. Are you still willing to help?" he questioned the little girl testing her. She took a deep breath and nodded her head "I am willing if it will help. I made the mistake and want to fix it." She replied with resolve. The lion smiled while he was sad over what had happened, he was proud of her willingness to take responsibility for her actions. "You will need to understand the worlds you are helping. To do that you must go to a world where places like the wood only exist in fairy tales. All knowledge of the wood will be taken from you. Little one you will not be able to come and go from the wood as you please. When you have learned what you need to know the wood will bring you back. Once you have returned, I will tell you what to do next. For this to work you will need to leave now" the lions' expiation was short and as precise as he could make it. The little girl nodded to let the lion know she understood then reached out and hugged him "Goodbye lion. I will miss you." She said as the ageless man wrapped her in a blanket and picked her up. The lion leaned in and nuzzled her cheek his breath soft and sweet. "Goodbye little one. You won't miss me because you will forget me, but I will miss you." By the time the lion had finished talking the little girl had fallen asleep in the ageless man's arms. She was no longer a little girl. She was a baby with no memory of the wood. The lion watched as the ageless man carried the baby that was once the little girl to a pool of water and stepped in.

Once in the new world the little girl was adopted by a loving family. She loved reading and could spend hours getting lost in a world of fantasy. Her grades were decent enough to pass, but she was far from the perfect student When she wasn't in school or reading, she spent her time split between gymnastics and horse back ridding. Her life was perfectly ordinary and other than a few health issues not much else is worth mentioning. Who wants to read a story about a mundane life that they can live themselves? I find that readers such as yourself like adventure and mystery over what someone had for breakfast.

This is not the end of the story dear reader it is instead the beginning of understanding. It was your world and mine that she went to. Our tale will pick back up some time after the little girl returned to the woods and entered a new world. Fear not though we shall return to the wood between the worlds at a later point it time. It is a very important wood after all.

I suppose you will want to know who the lion and the ageless man are. Although I am sure you have guessed who the lion is by now. I can confirm the lion's proper name is Aslan. I can also say that the wood between the worlds is the very same one that Digory and Polly once stood in. This however is not a story about Narnia someone else told that story and did so quite wonderfully. No, this story is quite different and while it may stray into Narnia from time to time it will have little to no effect on the story of Narnia itself. As for the ageless man he is someone the little girl from the wood will meet again for the first time later. It is with this conundrum that I will leave you for now. For that is a story for another time.


End file.
